Tag Archives: Sofia

Monday Morning Blues – The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia in Bulgaria
The cathedral looks magnificent on the outside but rather plain inside. Still for me the highlight of the Bulgarian capital.

Sunday Photo – Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia in Bulgaria
The capital of Bulgaria has a fine Orthodox Cathedral. The grand exterior covers a rather plain interior, however it makes for a very peaceful sanctuary.

Orthodox Easter Sunday
Today is Easter Sunday in the Orthodox calendar. A day of celebration for Greeks, Russians, Bulgarians, Romanians, Serbs, Georgians, Armenians, Latvians, Estonians, Ukrainians, Belorussians and a host of others. Here are a few Orthodox cathedrals & churches that I have visited over the years. Χριστός ἀνέστη!

2019 Ends, 2020 Beckons
“A postponed journey means a very special future opportunity.” So say I after having to cancel two booked trips last January, which have now been re-scheduled for early 2020. More of those later, what about the trips actually undertaken in 2019? Athens A late February stay in our central Athens apartment so we could visit […]

On a train from Serbia to Bulgaria (Extract from ‘Wilbur’s Travels, Travelling by Train Across the Balkans’)
Hornbill Publishing recently published ‘Wilbur’s Travels, Travelling by Train Across the Balkans’ recounting memorable travels in Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia & Slovenia as well as parts of Greece, Turkey & Romania. Here is an extract from a particularly excruciating journey – all part of the experience! A Train Journey […]

Friday Photo – St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia
Completed in 1912, for many years the St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was the largest Orthodox church in the world. It has a congregational capacity of 5,000 and peaks at 148 feet, whilst its bells can be heard from ten miles away. The church was built to honor those who sacrificed their lives during the Russo-Turkish War […]

My European Capital Rankings – 36 to 31
I have yet to visit Moscow, Valletta, Verduz, Pristina and Andorra la Vella, Ljubljana won’t be visited until February and I do not feel that I have explored Berlin, Bern or Podgorica enough to rate them. I have not included Monte Carlo as I consider that as part of France in the same way as […]

MY BOOK EXTRACT – ON A TRAIN FROM NIS TO SOFIA
Continuing extracts from my forthcoming book. This was a train journey memorable for all the wrong reasons……. Our train had started in Belgrade and was destined for Istanbul. Despite starting in the same country (Serbia) it arrived over an hour late for the 163KM leg from Niš to Sofia. We waited impatiently with hordes of luggage laden […]